Side-By-Side Oscars Pics Of Melissa McCarthy Crystallize Why Ozempic Rumors Just Won't Stop

A-list actor and comedian Melissa McCarthy stunned the masses when she showed up arm in arm with her hubby, Ben Falcone, at the 2026 Oscars red carpet in a form-fitting black and rose gold evening gown dripping in shimmering crystals. "Wow, what a couple gorgeous dress," one Instagram user gushed.

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Alas, unfortunately for McCarthy, it was her famous visage that really got people talking. While presenting the award for best score during an onstage reunion with her fellow "Bridesmaids" castmates, McCarthy herself appeared to poke fun at her so-called "Ozempic-face" transformation when she read aloud a fictitious letter that was delivered to her onstage. "It says, 'Hi, I'm with Stellan Skarsgård, writing my own separate note,'" McCarthy began. "'I also agree, you ladies look radiant. All the things you've done to your faces are very tasteful. Yours truly, Elle Fanning.' Wait, wait, there's more. It says, 'Just kidding. It's me again, Stellan Skarsgård.'" Cue belly laughs from the audience.

As you may recall, rumors started swirling about McCarthy's shrinking face in January 2026, following her appearance at the Golden Globes. But now, as evidenced in side-by-side pics of McCarthy at the Oscars in 2026 and 2012 (when she previously joined her "Bridesmaids" castmates on stage to present an award) — it's painfully obvious why the pesky "Ozempic-face" rumors just won't quit. "Ozempic got melissa mccarthy too," one X user wrote about the actor's noticeably hollowed-out face. And it certainly doesn't help matters that she has remained firmly tight-lipped about the Ozempic allegations, either. 

Melissa McCarthy will be the first to tell you that awards season hasn't always been easy for her. "Two Oscars ago, I couldn't find anybody to do a dress for me," she divulged to Redbook in 2014. "I asked five or six designers — very high-level ones who make lots of dresses for people — and they all said no."

Since then, however, McCarthy has lost a considerable amount of weight. But when pressed about how she really lost so much weight, she's given some pretty cagey explanations. In June 2015, she told Life & Style that the weight came off once she resolved to stop fretting over it. "I think there's something to kinda loosening up and not being so nervous and rigid about it that, bizarrely, has worked." Then, in 2016, when pressed by "Extra" host Charissa Thompson, McCarthy gave another non-answer of sorts. "No trick, nothing to tell, just super boring life," she said. "You bring it real down, you don't do anything fun and you go to bed at 7:30 — that's the trick." Bring it down and go to bed. Got it. 

Interestingly enough, it doesn't appear that those answers worked for the Queen of the Divas, either. In April 2024, Barbra Streisand entered the group chat re: McCarthy's mysterious weight loss. "Did you take Ozempic?" Streisand famously asked McCarthy in a since-deleted comment under one of McCarthy's photos (via People). Ruh-roh. Later, however, Streisand walked back her pushy comment. "She looked fantastic! I just wanted to pay her a compliment. I forgot the world was reading!" Streisand wrote on X. Fortunately, McCarthy took Streisand's line of questioning in stride. "The takeaway: Barbra Streisand knows I exist," McCarthy declared in a playful Instagram post. "She reached out to me and she thought I looked good! I win the day."